Such a Small Thing
by Insanity Studios Ink
Summary: Hiccup is depressed. He is bullied at school, and his father ignores him. How will the new girl, Merrida, change this? Can she change it? WARNING: SELF-HARM
1. Chapter 1:Merida

In a small house on the suburbs of Berk, a small boy sat on his bed. His feet weren't long enough to touch the floor yet, but he was still growing. Light glittered strangely off his face, and it would take a practiced eye to see that he was crying. His face was motionless, stoic even, but you could see the tears trickling down his face if you looked hard enough.

The boy was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a name given to him by his father in hopes that he would grow into it. But he hadn't. He remained small, puny, and weak. He had never felt more weak than now. His hopelessness grew, like a large pit it gnawed away at his emotionless facade.

If his mother was here, she would comfort him. She would brush the tears off his face, and hold him tight. She would whisper in his ear, and tickle him until he couldn't breath. But she wasn't here. She was...he didn't know where she was. His family had never really been religious people, so where was she now? Where did she go when she died?

It didn't matter; he told himself. She was gone now, never to come back. She would never comfort him again, she couldn't. And no one cared for him now. Not one...

Seven years later, and the same boy sits on the same bed. He's crying again, fat tears falling in his lap. He is different though. He wears long sleeves now, and he looks tired, and beaten. Dark circles shadow his eyes; a welt is showing on his cheek. His sweater hangs loosely off his thin frame, his face gaunt and shallow.

He is sobbing now, so hard his body is wracked with shaking. He slowly calms himself down, breathing hard. Carefully, he pulls his sleeve up to reveal the angry red lines that glare at him. Hiccup hurriedly pulls the fabric back down, disgusted. He doesn't know why he even bothers to cover them up anymore, it's not like anyone would care. They all hate him, they all wish he was dead. Hiccup isn't even sure if his dad still knows he's alive. In seven years, his father has only spoken three word to him. And the latter hasn't even looked at his own son in three and a half years.

Sighing, Hiccup sat heavily on his bed, the springs creaking. School that day was particularly bad. The regular group of bullies had cornered him at his locker, taunting him and shoving him. One of the teachers had walked past, smirking at Hiccup's pain. Maybe that's why Hiccup felt so bad, his own teachers not even caring if he lived or died.

The boy felt the familiar sinking feeling; the cumbersome weight on his chest, making him feel suffocated. Depression. Hiccup sighed again, reaching for the razor blade that sat on his desk, glinting in the setting sun. He turned it over in his hand. Such a small thing, really. Seeming almost innocent, if not for the trace of blood staining the edge. Who knew such a small thing could cause so much pain, but yet relieve it at the same time.

Definitely not Hiccup. Not the weak little failure who sat in the corner, trying so hard to be invisible. The perfect overachiever, getting straight A's and an unblemished record. The kid who sat by himself at lunch, ignored by all. The one who no one wanted, nor cared for.

But now, a year after the first cut, Hiccup knew exactly what the small piece of metal in his hand could do. He knew from experience and habit. And weakness won again. He held the blade tightly in his fingers, hovering inches over the skin. The blade stopped. Hiccup hesitated for a minute. Should he do it? He shook his head to clear his mind.

 _Slice._

The blade plunged down, a cut appeared. Pain flared from the broken skin.

 _Slice._

Another one, deeper this time.

 _Slice._

That was for being useless.

 _Slice._

That was for failing his mother, for killing her.

 _Slice._

Five seemed like enough for today. The pain made his arm feel as if it were on fire. The blood merged as it dribbled from each cut; smaller streams joining to form large ones. He stared transfixed for a minute as the scarlet liquid ran slowly down his arms. He sighed again and headed to the bathroom to clean up the mess of blood.

The cold water made his skin sting as the water invaded the gashes. The water turned red as it ran across his arm. Hemolosis, Mr. Bowman had said, trying to drill some knowledge of biology in his pathetic brain. That's what made the water red. The hemoglobin from the red blood cells tinting the water as the cells exploded.

Hiccup waited until the bleeding had mostly stopped before pulling his sleeves back down. The last time he hadn't...well, that sweatshirt was pretty much useless now. Still, he didn't think anyone would notice. They all hated him anyways. Why would they care if he was cutting as well? No, he didn't want anyone to know. It was more of a personal thing. The teen went back to doing his homework.

* * *

The school was utter chaos the next morning. Almost every student was gossiping about the same thing: a new girl had knocked two teeth from the lead bully's mouth while defending a middle schooler. Hiccup didn't care. All it did was distract his tormentors for a bit. They were to busy trying to woo her to pay him any attention.

In fact, he didn't even see her until Algebra. He sat in his usual seat in the corner of the room, keeping to himself and ignoring the ugly words the rest of the class said about him. He was startled by the smack of binders. The new girl had sat next to him. She had bright red hair, and startlingly blue eyes. "Hi, I'm Merida." she said, smiling at him. Her eyes were searching, inquisitive. Hiccup put on a fake smile, and introduced himself. Merida's eyes narrowed slightly, trying to figure him out.

Hiccup turned back to his drawing, shading in the face of a boy. In the picture, a boy sat on steps, laughing. His mother had a book, and she was covering a giggle by pretending to be reading it. The boy's father was roaring with laughter, slapping his hands on his knees. Merrida leaned closer to look at the drawing, taking in every detail.

Suddenly, a loud ripping sound tore through the room. Hiccup stood quickly, crumpling the picture and throwing it away. She gasped, shocked that he'd do such a thing. Why had he done that? Had he not liked it? Hiccup sat in his desk, opening his textbook to start his homework. He didn't look up until the bell rang to dismiss them to lunch.

Merida purposely dropped her folder, letting papers fall in a heap by her desk. Mumbling, she picked them up, shuffling and sorting them before putting them back. No one was left in the classroom. Perfect. She stopped at the trash bin just long enough to grab the drawing that Hiccup had thrown away. Maybe she could solve the mystery now...

At the lunchroom, her eyes swept the room, searching for Hiccup. She ignored the jerks that kept inviting her to sit with them, instead getting a tray laden with the toxic waste the school called "food". Merida spotted Hiccup sitting by himself at a table near the trash bins.

As she was walking toward him, a mean-looking girl walked up toward him, a banana peel in her hand. She tossed it at him, the slimy thing landing with a splat near his hands. "Oops, I thought you were the trash." she said, mocking him. Hiccup slowly and deliberately picked up the peel before dropping it in the trash.

As the girl walked past Merida, the latter stuck out her foot just so. Moments later, with a thump, the girl lay on the floor, the wind forced out of her lungs. She slowly picked herself up, wincing at the pain. She gave Merrida a dirty look before scurrying to gossip with her friends. Probably talking of ways to get back at her, Merrida thought.

Hiccup watched the scene out of the corners of his eyes, fascinated by Merrida's courage. Was she doing this to protect him? Or did she just feel bad for him? The girl in question sat down next to him, her tray clacking softly on the tabletop. Hiccup turned away, hoping that she wasn't here for what he thought she was here for. Maybe if he ignored her she would leave him alone.

Digging in her pocket, she dug out a piece of paper. Smoothing the creases out, Merida set the picture he'd been drawing in math class on the table. Hiccup looked at it, and tears started to prick at his eyes. How had she gotten it? She must have nabbed it after class ended. He pushed it away. Merrida pushed it back. "Why don't you want it? It's a beautiful picture." she whispered sadly. Hiccup shook his head. "Once upon a time, that was me. But no longer."

* * *

 _CLIFFHANGER! Sort of. Anywho, how did you like it? I'm thinking that I'm going to make this into a multiple-chapter story, but I might just leave it at that. But I hope not, because that's a pretty bad place to end. Oh well._

 _Anywho, I'm signing up for the first segment of driver's ed. I hope I can drive by the summer! That way Mom can sleep when she's tired from a fourteen-hour shift while I drive. And I'm now part of the drama club, so that should be fun. I can't wait, I love acting!_

 _Story. Sorry. My goal is for each chapter to be at least 1,500 to 2,000 words long, the longer the better! This ones 1,548. I'm thinking the next chapter will be something about more Merriccup fluff, maybe Merrida will find out that Hiccup cuts. Who knows? And I have absolutely no idea where this'll end up, so I will take requests and your ideas. Thanks to all you lovely readers!_

 _~Yours in Destiny, Joan McCreedy_

 _Updated 1/12/16_

 _Updated 2/18/16: Issues with writing style. Hope it's better!_


	2. Chapter 2:Bullies

_Hi again! It's me, the weird and crazy author of semi-decent stories! Two chapters in a week? That's insane! I normally don't update for a week! Psst! Don't tell my Anderson's fans, but I think this is now my favorite story I am writing, so this will probably be updated quicker._

 _Speaking of which, this chapter is dedicated to the great and wonderful **Amaya-chan07** for being the first reviewer! I really appreciate you pointing out that typo, I haven't watched Brave in forever. I should probably fix that... Anywho, thank you so much for your continued support! Enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

Merida let Hiccup push the drawing away. "So what changed?" she asked. He stood up, his tray skittering across the table. He looked mad, but his eyes were wet. Quickly, he left, leaving a bewildered Merida at the empty table.

Hiccup rushed down the halls, the familiar stinging in his eyes. He pushed open the door with a little too much force, but no one cared. The bathroom was empty. He locked himself in the farthest stall from the door, sliding down the wall. Why did the gods hate him? Why was he cursed to be reminded of his mother everywhere he turned? Why did she have to leave him in the first place?

The bell rang, officially ending lunch. The sound jarred Hiccup from his thoughts, echoing slightly in the empty, once-silent bathroom. Hundreds of feet flooded the halls, people's voices drifting in and out of focus. He waited until the halls had quieted before grabbing his books and heading for his English class.

He sat down in his seat just as the bell rung, ignoring the giggles and names that were aimed at him. He got that so often he didn't even care anymore. It was all normal for him. Merida, she was not. Someone caring, someone sticking up for him, that wasn't normal. And he didn't like it; Hiccup didn't like change. Change took his mother from him. Change took his father's loving embraces, his care, his love from him. Change took everything he had, and he wouldn't let it take any more.

He couldn't get attached, it would only hurt more when it was stripped away from him. It would only hurt them and him, and he didn't want that. So he isolated himself, and, in return, they all ostracized him. And Hiccup liked it better that way. So this unexpected change in his daily routine of misery wasn't the most welcome thing.

Merida watched Hiccup stare at his notebook, biting his lower lip. He looked deep in thought, his eyebrows crinkled together. She heard him sigh quietly to himself, and he closed his eyes ad if trying to clear his brain. Suddenly, he opened them and looked straight at her. She turned away quickly, fighting the blush that spread across her face. Busted...

But he just turned away and went back to drawing in his notebook. If anyone else but her noticed this, they didn't acknowledge it. Maybe it was normal. Or maybe they just could not care less. No wonder he was so depressed. Anyone in his situation would have cracked years ago. He really was stronger than he looked.

"Hiccup, what is a conjunction?" Ms. Himmler's voice cut through the din of the whispering students. "A conjunction is a word that joins two of the same things, such as words, phrases, or clauses." the boy in question answered, not looking up from his notebook. "Correct." She glared at the still whispering class.

"Snotlout!" she called out. Snotlout jerked away from the heated discussion he'd been having, face tinged slightly red. "Could you kindly give me an example?" "Of what?" he responded, looking bewildered. "Of a conjunction, if you please." Ms. Himmler said kindly. "Err, I really don't know." he said, eager to get back to his conversation. But she wasn't done. She instructed him to go and write several examples that the rest of the class came up with on the board.

Merida glanced at Hiccup again. His pencil still trailed slowly and methodically across the page, drawing a picture that Merida couldn't see. She wondered if she would have to fish this one out of the trash too. She hoped he would just show her it, but he didn't look up from the page until the bell rang, even then he stayed until everyone else had left. She didn't see him again in classes.

Hiccup was packing up his bag, placing his homework carefully in his backpack when he saw her. She was running toward him, her mane of red hair bouncing with her steps. A strand of it landed in her face, trailing down her cheek as she smiled at him. He instinctively smiled back, and this smile didn't feel as fake as most of the other ones.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." she said. Hiccup flinched. "I don't like goodbyes, I prefer to say see you later." Merida cocked her head a little, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Well, see ya later lad." she said, turning to head for the buses. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He nodded, a smile making his lips curve upward a little.

But his good mood didn't last long. Because he did not like the chaos and loudness of the bus, Hiccup preferred to walk home. It was quiet, and gave him time to think. Today his brain insisted on going over every little mistake he had made that day. Most of them involved Merida, but none of them were her fault. It was all his fault, it was always his fault.

"Hey, Useless!" a voice called after him. Hiccup recognized that voice, and tried to ignore it, speeding up his pace a little. The sound of shoes slapping the sidewalk followed him. Suddenly, a foot appeared between his, and Hiccup fell. Hard.

His hands instinctively shot out to break his fall, but the concrete was not kind to them. Scrapes and cuts made pain dance up his arm, and blood dripped on the sidewalk, staining it red. "Why were you running?" taunted Snotlout. "You could fall, Useless." he spat the last word out with venom, as if though physically hurt him to say it. One of his cronies guffawed loudly while he kicked Hiccup in the stomach.

Hiccup groaned, tears trying to fall again, but he screwed up his eyes and took the pain. Another one of his cronies punched his arm, causing the cuts on it to open up again. He hissed in pain, but did not do anything that would make him look in pain. They would eventually get bored of him and go to waste their money at the convenience store around the corner.

"HEY!" someone yelled. That voice sounded familiar, but Hiccup couldn't place it in the haze of pain that flooded his senses. A flash of red obscured his vision, and he knew. It was Merida. "BACK OFF OR I'LL SHOOT!" she yelled at the bullies. They all did but Snotlout. Wait, did she have a gun? Snotlout strode back toward Hiccup. "Or what? You'll shoot us with your toy?" he said, clearly trying to aggravate her. An arrow sprouted from the ground, centimeters from his foot. He yelped, and he and his cronies ran off, tripping over one another in their haste.

Instantly, Merida's bow clattered on the pavement as she helped him up. She was close enough that Hiccup could smell her perfume, and see the individual strands of hair. He could hear her gentle breathing, and see the twinkling as the sunlight shone off her earrings. "Your hands!" she cried out, examining the scrapes. "They're fine." Hiccup told her. "I'll clean them up when I get home."

Merida's brain was running a mile a minute. Why was he so darn stubborn? "Here, follow me. I'll clean them up." She latched her hand on his wrist, and he grimaced as the cuts there flared with pain. She did not notice, nor did she relent. Merida simply continued to drag him toward the house across the street, bow in one hand and quiver at her side.

She didn't let go of him until they were in the hall, as she hurried to the bathroom to get some supplies. It was almost like she expected him to run off when she turned her back; which he would have done had she let him go earlier. Hiccup followed her, unsure of what else to do. "I know we had some left..." he heard he muttering to herself as he came to the door. She was on her knees, sifting through the baskets under the sink.

"Um, do you need some help?" he asked her uncertainly. She tried to get up, banging her head on the sink. The clunk that ensued reverberated through the bathroom. He helped her up, a smile playing at his lips. "Thank you." she told him. Merida smiled at him as she held up the bandages that she had found.

Steering Hiccup to the kitchen, she had him sit down and hold out his arm. She carefully wrapped each scrape, cleaning them and adding ointment to keep them from getting infected. He hoped that she would not see the small, dark stain that was slowly spreading on his sleeve, and he tried to get her to hurry up, complaining about homework.

She finished at long last, Hiccup standing to go as he thanked her. "Wait! Don't leave yet!" she said, turning on her heel and running up the stairs to her bedroom. "I've got something for you!" She was downstairs in the blink of an eye, her blue eyes sparkling and her hair flying behind her as she ran.

She stopped just in front of him, hiding something behind her back. "You have been a good boy." she said in a slightly robotic voice. "Have a lollipop!" The hand behind her back appeared, holding a red sucker in it. Hiccup laughed, for the first time in months. He laughed so hard tears came to his eyes, but this time he didn't stop them. Merida laughed with him, her heart fluttering at the sound. She had not heard it before.

He finally departed, once he could stand again. "Thank you very much." he told her. She beamed at him. "No problem. That's what friends are for, right?" "Yeah." said Hiccup, almost wistfully. He gave her a quick hug before heading home. He turned away to hide his embarrassment, not noticing that Merida's face had become a bright shade of red, almost as fiery as her hair.

* * *

 _Sorry about the ending, it's not as angsty as I would have liked it, but it will do. I might end up redoing it at some point in time. What do you think? Anyway, thanks again to **Amaya-chan07** for your review. Congratulations on being the first reviewer! I hope this chapter is up to your standards, and I agree. It will take Hiccup time to build trust. _

_Which is why I find myself in the predicament of explaining the fluff at the end. I wanted for Hiccup to see that not all people are bad, and neither is he. I hope I kinda got this point across, and I think Hiccup will start trusting Merida more in the next chapter. Hopefully Chpt. 3 will be up as fast as 2! Wish me luck!_

 _~Yours in Destiny, Joan McCreedy_

 _Updated 1/12/16_


	3. Chapter 3: The Truth

_I'm soo sorry for taking so long! Here's what happened:_

 _Me, two weeks ago: I should really get started on ch. 3. Nah, it can wait._

 _Me, a week ago: I really need to finish that bloody chapter! Nah, I don't feel good._

 _Me, yesterday: I really need to finish that blasted thing! Nah, it can wait a little lon-AHH! IT'S BEEN ALMOST THREE WEEKS! THEY'LL KILL ME IF I DON'T FINISH! _

_And, that's the end of How I am an expert at Procrastination. Anywho, yesterday was Valentine's Day, (Sorry, I wanted to get this out yesterday, but there's no libraries open on Sunday.) and I actually got a flower! From a Walmart employee, who was giving them out for free and insisted I take one. Yay, three cheers for Walmart employees! Seriously, that really made my day. That was the first time anyone's given me anything for Valentine's Day of free will (not the class exchange crap)._

 _Well, please enjoy the chapter and have a happy and safe President's Day!_

* * *

Chapter Three

* * *

Merida lay on her couch, wrapped in a blanket. A book lay in her hand, and she was almost finished with it. She was at the part where the boy and the girl were sort-of fighting. The boy was trying to avoid the girl, and the girl was trying to get the boy to talk. Kinda like Hiccup and her. She sighed, her mind running wild. The characters would no doubt be together in the end, because that was how it worked in books.

She wished her life were as simple as that. But no, she had to have an "interesting" love life. She had to have complications, and roadblocks. Hiccup had to be so darn stubborn, and she had to be so pushy. She had probably scared him away, she had probably chased him off. The desperate dash he made for the door after she had let him go, the way he resisted when she had dragged him to her house.

She groaned quietly to herself. Great. Just great. The only boy in the whole darn school who she liked, and she managed to frighten him away. Merida buried her head in her arms, her mane of red hair flying about in the sudden movement. Her brain whizzed, trying to figure things out. Why did her life have to be so confusing? She found this question repeating itself as her brain brought the same scene up, over and over. The one of Hiccup running away from her in such a haste.

* * *

Hiccup lay on his floor, having finished cleaning his room. He hated his room being a mess, and kept it hospital clean. His Algebra II textbook lay open, and he stared at it, tapping his pencil to his forehead. He became aware of a gnawing pain at his middle, his stomach growling sulkily at him. He slowly picked himself off the floor, heading down the staircase to the kitchen.

He opened the fridge, the dim light-bulb flickering on. The hum of it sort of reminded him of his mother, but in a nice way. But the empty shelves didn't. Those were new; his mother would never have allowed it. He closed it, the door snapping shut. Maybe there was something in the cupboards...

The door opened with a bang. "A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard" Hiccup quoted silently. The giant was Stoic. His tangled mess of a beard lay heaped upon his face, but his eyes held no kindness. They did not glitter, like Hagrid's.

In fact, they were glazed over. This, added to his alarmingly red nose, suggested that he had been drinking more than a little too much. He stumbled through the door, eyes training on Hiccup. For once in in seven years, they fixated on him. They widened in shock, then narrowed at the boy.

"Who are you?!" he bellowed at him. "Why the hell are you in my house?!" Hiccup practically cried in relief as he hugged his father. "I'm Hiccup, your son." Stoic looked at the small boy clutching him. Who was he? He wasn't sure he had a son. So why was he in his house?

Stoic pushed the small boy to the floor. Hiccup fell with a thump, tears threatening to fall again. "You are not my son." he said, voice cold with animosity. The small boy at his feet gasped, his heart crumbling like a old cookie. "I have no son." he finished, stomping away to his room.

Hiccup felt a small part of him die, some part of his being cracking into nothingness. The streaks the tears made shone slightly in the light. He slowly picked himself off the floor, wincing at the pain in his arms. Some of the cuts had opened up again, for the second time that day.

Slowly climbing the stairs, the tears that fell from his face splattered onto the wooden stairs. The stairs creaked as he plodded up them deliberately. He sat on his bed, it groaned in protest as it sunk down. Hiccip's eyes stung from the effort of repressing the tears, but he was fighting a losing battle trickling freely down his face.

His attention was caught by a flash of light. It came from the general direction of his desk, but his vision was too blurred to make anything out. He blinked several times, rubbing his eyes. Flash. There it was again. What was it? The razor, still on his desk form last night. Blood still stained the blade, dark against the glare.

He picked it up, turning it over in his fingers. Should he do it again? Merida would surely find out; it was best to play it safe. But the crushing feeling on his chest refused to budge, not relenting in its persistent weight.

He rolled up his sleeves, wincing at the pain of the bloody fabric dragging along his cuts. Taking a towel, he wiped the blood away. Once he was finished, he took the blade once again, suspending it above his skin. He was about to plunge it down, to finish the job, when he was interrupted.

A loud, jangling sound echoed through the house. It sounded like bells, and was oddly familiar. Hiccup couldn't place it, but it reminded him of his mother. It reminded him of the times when she would have her friends over for tea on Saturdays, when she would welcome visitors into the house. Visitors…

That was it! It was the doorbell! Goodness, he hadn't heard that sound in over seven years. Not one person had stopped by for tea in Stoic's reign. Until now. Hiccup didn't know who on earth would be ringing the doorbell now, Hiccup had no friends to visit, and Stoic had very few.

Maybe it was Gobber, checking up on them. No, he would have called first. Who was it then? Only one way to find out. He trudged down the stairs, sleeves rolling themselves down his arms. A trickle of the blood made itself silently down his arm, dribbling onto his hand.

The smell of alcohol filled his nostrils as he passed Stoic's door, the man's loud snores echoing through the quiet house. The doorbell rang again, but he slept on. Once more it rang; whoever was outside really wanted to get a hold of them. Hiccup hurried to the door, really wishing that it had a peephole to check who it was. He still didn't know who it possibly could be. Why would any one want to would anyone ant to visit the two in this house? Neither was part of any organizations, nor were they very popular in the community... Both of them were essentially social outcasts among the town of Berk.

The door opened slowly, and the first thing Hiccup saw was a flash of fiery red hair. Merida stood on the doorstep, a book in hand. Why.." Hiccup muttered quietly to himself. Why must she always show up whenever he was most weak?

Hiccup may have been zoned out, but Merida wasn't. "Hiccup, you're bleeding!" she said, grabbing his hand. The pain that raced up his arm was enough to snap him out of his trance, yelping as he realized that Merida was holding his hand. "Hiccup, you are bleeding." she repeated, trying to get his attention.

He looked down at his hand, watching the blood trickle down his fingers. "So I am." he said, mostly to himself. Merida still had his hand in hers, and it was beginning to get sticky from the blood. "Here, let's get you cleaned up." she said, dragging him through his own house.

Merida ignored the bitter smell of beer emanating from the room on the left, instead asking where the bathroom was. "Upstairs on the left." She smiled at him, pushing him up the stairs. Turning to the bathroom, she pushed him down on the toilet seat. "Sit." she told him, rummaging through the medicine cabinet for bandages.

Hiccup suddenly realized what Merida was about to do. She would find out about the cutting, the depression; she would find out about everything. He jumped up, causing Merida to hit her head on the underside of the sink again. "Ouch!" she cried, her hair bouncing around as she got up.

She tried to grab him to push back on the toilet, but he wouldn't let her. "I'm fine!" he said, ducking her grabbing arms. "I can fix it myself. Please, just leave me alone." Merida stopped. She looked at Hiccup, her face falling. He didn't want her here? Of course he didn't. She was always too demanding, too pushy. She had forced him up here, trying to help him, but he didn't want her help. He wasn't incapacitated, she told herself. Why would he want her playing Mama Bear on him?

"Okay." she said, eyes tingling. She traveled slowly down the stairs, Hiccup following her. At the door, she paused. Merida turned toward him, eyes wet. "I guess I will see you tomorrow." she said quietly. Hiccup nodded, staring at the ground. She gave him a quick hug before turning down the garden path. At the end of the drive, she turned to face him one last time. He raised his hand and waved, and his sleeve fell down a little.

Red lines covered the exposed flesh.

* * *

 _Yay! I finally made a halfway-decent cliffhanger! Anywho, I'm really sorry this took so long to update, I was having some computer issues plus I had no idea what to write. But I got this written, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please, review. Click on the little box and let me know what you think._

 _Special thanks to **asingha19** , **EraticMind** , **.90** , **.568** , **cam285** and **Motonari9116** for your support. Welcome to the small club of supporters! And special thanks once again to **Amaya-chan07**. It is really nice to have such a great fan club. Thank You All!_

 _Now, for the future of Such a Small Thing, I was thinking of making Hiccup suicidal. What do you think? Yes? No? Let me know! Now, I'm off to work on catching up on my sleep and getting rid of this atrocious headache. Happy late Valentine's Day everyone!_

 _~Yours in Insanity, Joan McCreedy._

 _Posted: 1/15/16_

 _Updated 2/18/16: Grammatical update._


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